Ismenio
PS: Got your message with the sample pages from the manual! Awesome! Great job! Thanks so much!

No problem. I am happy that I figured out how to do this. I will get the rest of the manual scanned and off to you this weekend.

If you get time, could you do the same for me with the manual for the Fidelity Micro? I don't need it this weekend, as you seem to be up to your elbows inside of computer guts, but didn't know if you remembered.

Yes that is the way I look at chess computers too. Rarity has its place but design, features, feedback (chess information, sounds, lights whatever), build quality, chess ability relative to my standard of play, innovation, age etc all come into it.

Wow! I think that was a good deal Dick! Also it was great to receive all that info from Steve! Like I said, I like the Eldorado a lot but my "liking" thermometer is very crazy!

I enjoy a lot of my computers because of the design, look-and-feel and other features that appeal to me. Interestingly, some of the ones I like the most are not even rare or expensive! I have a IRS for them I guess (Ismenio's Rating System

Congratulations!

Ismenio
PS: Got your message with the sample pages from the manual! Awesome! Great job! Thanks so much!

I was about to update that date and put 1980 since that's what I got from one of the integrated circuits on the board. I found your theory on the numbers and dates interesting! We will have to check on that.

Also, there's a tag on the bottom of the Eldorado with a date code that I was not able to figure out: "DATE CODE: 4190" ?

I didn't have much competition to get this one and like you, I tried to find out more about it without help. I really like this unit a lot! Regardless of its rarity that's one of my favorites

I'm sure you're keeping an eye on eBay for it

Best,

Ismenio

PS: To Steve: Still working on the Byte chess!

Well, to be totally honest with you, Ismenio, that was exactly the reason I was interested in the Eldorado and asking about it. I, just today, won a mint condition Eldorado on eBay for $10.56! I guess not everything I buy is in the "expensive" category. There was not much action on this one, either, and so I was wondering if the model simply wasn't very good. The seller failed to put the word Fidelity in the auction title, so that might have kept some buyers from noticing it. Glad to hear you like yours. I have been checking out the German web sites and a couple of lists of the ELO ratings of computers, and the Eldorado isn't mentioned anywhere, other than on your site.

The model number, 6119, would put it right next to the Chesster Challenger, which was model number 6120. Do we know when the 6120 was introduced?

I was about to update that date and put 1980 since that's what I got from one of the integrated circuits on the board. I found your theory on the numbers and dates interesting! We will have to check on that.

Also, there's a tag on the bottom of the Eldorado with a date code that I was not able to figure out: "DATE CODE: 4190" ?

I didn't have much competition to get this one and like you, I tried to find out more about it without help. I really like this unit a lot! Regardless of its rarity that's one of my favorites

I have been under the assumption that the model number of Fidelity chess computers were in chronological order, with the highest numbers being at the end of Fidelity's life as a company. For example, the 6131 would have been the last machine they made. The Phantom 6100 was released in 1988 and the 6124/6126 versions were a few years later, in 1991. This seems borne out from reading the few web sites I can find discussing these machines.

Does this hold true throughout the Fidelity line? If so, wouldn't that make the 6119, Eldorado, fall somewhere after 1988 and probably around 1990? I noticed, Ismenio, that you place this computer at 1983 on the excellent picture pages of your collection. You do have a question mark after the date, indicating that you aren't certain of this.

I haven't been able to find mention of this Fidelity model on any of the other web sites devoted to chess computers, mostly in Europe. Is this model simply beneath the scope of most collectors?